Civilization

Looking around, I locate a box close to the stairs. Compared to the last few days, this batch of loot was a lot less with only 2 small items inside the box, a white and turquoise ring. Picking up both rings, I walk over to Evan and Rebecca as I read the descriptions for both.

[ Ghostly Ring

Intelligence: 5

Skill: Ghost Spike

A white ghostly ring created from the despair of a widow after she pierces her chest on the same spike that her husband fell upon. The ring harnesses the very same spike that took both their lives. ]

[ Aqua Ring

Intelligence: 5

Skill: Healing Pulse

A turquoise ring reminiscent of the water along the coast of a tropical island. Its gentle and soft feel calms the user as well as allies near them, helping the user and allies to recover their strength. ]

Ghost Spike (Active) - Create a spike that comes out of the ground to damage your foes. (50 + 80% Intelligence). This skill is able to hit enemies that are cannot be damaged by physical attacks. Cooldown 5 mins.

Healing Pulse (Active) - Upon activation creates a ring of mist, 5 meters in diameter. It will pulse every 10 seconds for 1 minute, healing 10% missing HP. Cooldown 1 hour.

"Evan, take the Ghostly Ring, it might be useful in fights since there is no MP required to activate it, and it has a short cooldown. Whereas, babe, take the Aqua Ring. You will need it during a fight, and it can be used if some of us are injured as well." - Ian ƒ𝔯𝗲𝗲𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧oѵℯl.𝒄𝑜m

"Are you sure? I don't think I deserve this. What about your NPCs?" - Evan

"Yea, don't you think they would use this more effectively than us?" - Rebecca

"Maybe, but you guys need to get stronger as well. You might not be getting any stats from ancient ruins, so the only way you can get stronger is by finding opportunities in battle and using better equipment. This is just a start, and you will be able to get stronger by killing monsters and gaining more contribution." - Ian

"Hmm… I guess." - Rebecca

"Alright, if you say so. I'll use this to protect your NPCs. A 1-minute cooldown is very short, so I can use this repeatedly over the course of a whole battle. Thanks, Ian." - Evan

"I'll use the ring to heal you whenever you need it, okay." - Rebecca

"Thanks, so… What now?" - Ian

"What do you mean? Aren't you going to go to Kingston?" - Evan

"Well, yeah, but I told Kaede to take some time to recover from the incident, and it hasn't been that long since we parted." - Ian

"It's almost sunrise, so I guess we can rest up for a bit and leave in the morning." - Rebecca

"Right then-" - Ian

"IANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!" - Melody

"Ohhhhh dramaaaa." - Evan

Snapping my head toward the door, I see Melody standing there with a slight scowl on her face as she side-eyes Rebeca. Rushing behind her is Solar, who was slightly out of breath.

"Melody, can you slow down for a bit." - Solar

"Oh. My. God. An elf…" - Evan

"Ian, who is she? What is she to you? Care to explain?" - Rebecca

"Babe, I-" - Ian

"No, I need some answers first. Who is she? She can't just appear out of nowhere and look this close to you." - Melody

"Melody, calm down. I-" - Ian

"Hey, girl. I asked first. You can just stand back and let me talk, okay?" - Rebecca

"Excuse me. I'm sorry, I didn't know dirt can talk back." - Melody

"DIRT?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?" - Rebecca

"Hello, beautiful angel, my name is Evan. May I know your lovely name?" - Evan

"Solar. Nice to meet you, Evan. You have quite the charming name yourself." - Solar

"YEAH! I called you dirt. What are you going to do about it? Roll along the ground?" - Melody

"So, this is the kind of foul-mouthed woman you like talking to, Ian? We have a lot to talk about and for your information you filthy skank, I'm Ian's significant other. Oh, wait. With your low intelligence, I bet you don't even know what that means." - Rebecca

"Babe, can you calm down for a second." - Ian

"No. I will NOT calm down. I will not take an insult from someone I don't know and not fight back. This little vixen has no right to talk to me like this." - Rebecca

"Oh please, princess. There is no need to look down on other people. I'm sure Ian has had enough of your haughty attitude." - Melody

"I would love to learn more about you, miss Solar. Are you by any chance seeing someone at the moment?" - Evan

"Umm, no I'm not but Mr. Evan. I'm not quite sure if this is the appropriate time to be discussing this. I think Ian needs a little help." - Solar

"No, no, no. He is getting the treatment he deserves as a pioneer in the harem path. This is but a small roadblock in the way." - Evan

"But still… I do think we need to solve this. Ian has to prepare who will be going to the Krepost with him soon, Kaede has expressed that she wants to go back sooner rather than later." - Solar

"Sigh… Alright. Ian, Rebecca, and Melody, was it? It's time to stop this pointless argument. There are more important matters at hand. Kaede wants to go soon, so you need to figure out who is going with you, Ian." - Evan

"Thanks, Evan. The both of you, I will talk to you about this later, but for now, can you both focus on what is at hand?" - Ian

"We will be having a nice long chat later, Ian." - Rebecca

"You better tell me what is going on, Ian." - Melody

"Alright, miss Solar, can you lead the way to Kaede." - Evan

"Wow… You stopped that so quickly, Mr. Evan. Ian, and everyone, follow me to the training grounds. Kaede is currently there with Howard." - Solar

Running after Solar and Evan, I escape the tense atmosphere. However, it was only the start of my trouble. Rebecca grabs onto my right arm, pressing her body close to mine, whilst Melody grabs my left arm, also pressing her body close to mine. A comfortable but uncomfortable walk to the training grounds awaited me.

It didn't take long before we reached the training grounds where Kaede and Howard were sitting together on the ground, watching the sunrise. Slipping out of both girls' hold, I wave to Howard and Kaede, approaching Kaede first and kneeling on the ground next to her.

"Kaede, are you sure you are okay? I don't mind waiting until later in the day before we leave." - Ian

"Ian, thank you for worrying about me but right now I'm sure Ken and the others are in danger. I can't be here worried and scared when they are probably in the worst situation. That's why I think we should go as soon as possible." - Kaede

"Alright if you say so. I'll be needing you to tell me how to get to Kingston and the others." - Ian

"Of course! I'll do anything." - Kaede

"Alright then, Howard is everything okay with the troops? What's the situation with Evan's group as well?" - Ian

"From what Gobi has told me, the troops are resting up right now. Everyone is tired from the constant fighting but today was a lot less than usual, so they are able to rest up earlier. They should be in top shape by tomorrow night and with the additional people, we might be able to have more rotations. More rotations mean more rest overall so, we should be good with you leaving to the Krepost.

As for the general populace of Evan's group, according to Noah, they are mainly non-warriors. Most of them are children or women and while some of the women can fight most of them are not fighters. Some have asked to work with Lucina already and with Lucina preparing to expand the medical garden, she already accepted the extra hands." - Howard

"Yea… There weren't a lot of fighters in my group. We mostly ran for battles if we had the chance and only fought whenever it was guaranteed that we would win. At the start, we had more warriors, but slowly we started to face stronger and stronger monsters. The bodies started to pile up after that, and we had no choice but to run from battles. Cassidy and I were the main fighters but even then we weren't that strong." - Evan

"Right, Cassidy did mention that it was mainly you two in battles especially when you had a Kobold staff. However, the Kobolds have expressed their will to help fight especially in the cavern. They like the environment, and they want to protect it." - Howard

"Perfect. Have old man Hus make weapons that suit their battle style and give them the wooden armor for now. They will be part of the cavern defense force, and we can shift some people there to the front gate." - Ian

"Alright, I'll tell Gobi. Who are you planning to take with you?" - Howard

"Well, Kaede and Rebecca are definitely going with me. I'm planning to take Luna, Gewari, 5 goblins scouts, 5 shield bearers, and you. The scouts and the shield bearers are for Stellar and Celine. They might need the backup for the next night or two without their main damage dealers, so I'm planning to move some people over there. The ones who are participating in the actual rescue mission are Luna, Gewari, Kaede, Rebecca, you, and me." - Ian

"Are you sure about this? What about taking more wolves with us?" - Howard

"No, because I require this place to be properly defended in case of an emergency. The wolves themselves are stronger than most of us, with the only downside being they can't use any of the equipment because old man Hus hasn't made anything for animals and monsters yet. Having Luna is more than enough as an extra pair of eyes and nose." - Ian

"Alright. I'll get everyone ready as well as restock our potion bags." - Howard

"Thank you, Howard. We leave the moment everything is ready, and we are going to get to the Krepost as soon as possible." - Ian